James Greer

Review of Joyce Koons Honda Buick GMC

Late January 2014: Just bought a new Buick LaCros...

Late January 2014: Just bought a new Buick LaCrosse, but since it came from another dealer out of state, it did not have a front license plate bracket, as required in Virginia. The morning after we drove the new car home, Will Coral, the sales consultant, contacted us and said the front bracket had just arrived in the morning's parcel shipment, and we could come in at any time to have it installed. We were amazed that the service department was open seven days a week. We drove there, met a very pleasant service writer, and the bracket was installed in less than 10 minutes. Good service, in spite of the fact that the entire complex is being remodeled and expanded. I know installing a bracket is not a big deal, but the efficiency with which we were handled, the cleanliness of the service department, the uniforms worn by all personnel, all made a very good first impression. I'll be back.

Update, Late March 2014. LaCrosse is a dream car. Tight riding, super interior, sport shifting or normal "drive" shifting. Fantastic satellite radio; USB and MP3 port; Bluetooth; Pandora; on-board navigation; etc. I thought my four tires were all leaking air over a two week period. Took it back to Joyce Koons service dept, who removed the tires, re-mounted them, and a month later, no leaks. Was treated in the same professional manner as I described above. Another item: I sought to get some details about what sales taxes (state and local) I actually paid for the car, in order to report it to the IRS next time I file taxes. It wasn't clear (to me, at least) exactly what those amounts were on the purchase order I had been given the day of the sale. I spoke with the sales manager, Ed Dove, who gave me those amounts, then sent me a copy of the document that spelled out those taxes.

From these critiques, I guess you can tell that I was treated professionally, and that's worth a million dollars in a customer's relationship with a dealer. The price we paid for the LaCrosse was better than ANY we had found on Internet searches. We used a buying service (which invites local dealers to bid on a potential sale) and Joyce Koons' bid was not the absolute best, but pretty close. So we bought the LaCrosse from them. I'm very glad we did. Oh, by the way, in addition to the GM 2-year free oil/lube/tire rotation, plus other long warranties on entire vehicle and power train, Joyce Koons gives you a lifetime warranty -- yep, lifetime -- on the power train if you have it serviced there. Given the fact that the car requires a highly-rated synthetic oil, and given the fact that the oil has to be changed somewhere, I see no reason NOT to have Joyce Koons do that work over the life of the car, especially considering the initial professionalism and courtesy I experienced.

Update August 2014: Took my 2014 LaCrosse to Joyce Koons for lube/oil/filter/tire rotation, which is included in the Buick 2-year maintenance package. Though I was late for my appointment, Tyson Farina took the car right away, and all items were finished in about one hour. The charge was, of course, zero. Tyson also discussed with me some Buick recall items (not related to this car), and responded promptly via email on some followup questions. I'll be back.

Also August 2014: After finishing the lube/oil/filter visit, I dropped by the sales floor to speak with Will Coral about some instruction on the Buick Intellilink navigation system. He was very patient, courteous and professional in helping me resolve a few problems I was having. The system was functioning properly, but the operator needed some additional instruction.